Mud-hook.



H. E. IVIAY..

MUD HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, wir

l ,272,29 l Yulvutcd July 0, BNS.

H. E. IVIAY.

MUD HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I9. 1917.

1 ,272,291 Patented July 9, um.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fm van for:

HMRY E. MAY, SELA, MSSGUR, SSIGNR F @NE-THXRD T0 HLMES HALL, 0E' SEDLIA, EESSGURI, AND ONE-T3132 HUGH K. W'AGNIER, 0F ST. LIS, MSSRI..

nun-noon.

"0 alito/711cm it may concern;

Be it known that l, HARRY E. MA?, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Mud Hooks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists of what is termed a mud hoolt for vehicle wheels, particularly those of the. dill'ere'nt kinds of motor vehicles, including trucks. The object oi this invention is to providea construction that will have a longer bearing surface than is found in prior n'i'ud hooks upon the periphery et the Wheel and that will be easier to apply and remove than those :now on fthe market.. The conditions under Whichinud hooks are applied are usually those of great discomfort' on account of mud or water in the road and also on account of the fact that a Wheel or the heels may be sunken hub deep in mud, Water, sand `or the like. This being the case, niud hooks depending upon tapes, cords, straps or the like or upon ouckles for fastening, are likely not to he drawn into as tight engagement with the tire as even such means make possible and it is ixn s possible to draw them into as tight engagement as is easily effected hy means of this device. When a vinud hook is not attached with the utmost'rigidity to a tire, not only is its eflieiency for the purpose for which it is intended decreased, hut .lay reason of its heing allowed to rock or wabble it is likely tocause injury to the tire. llhis is prevented hy the present invention.-

Heretofore mud hooks have been made too narrow in their base plates that trans versely cross the tire and this has rendered it practically impossible to derive from them the necessary eficiency or to keep them from rocking or Walobling. The present device is so elongated as to present an adequate hearing surface upon an adequate lonfg'itndr nal bearing surface along the circurn ere'nce of the tire to obviate both these dilliculties. So easy and convenient of application to the Wheel is the present device that it can be attached While the person doing` so stands or kneels on the running-hoard of the car.

' The strain put upon mud hooks is very great and in actual practice it has been found that those that dependv upon cords or straps of any ltind, even stout leather Specification of Letters latent,

Patented July 9, l.

Application led September 19, 1817. Serial No. 182,047.

straps, are rendered useless by the breaking of the cords or straps or similar attaching means. Thus a motorist equipped with inud hooks to be att-ached by straps or the like, upon Ending need for the use of the saine, attaches thein with great dihculty, endeavors to drive out of the mud hole in which his driving wheels have been caught, breaks the inud hook straps, and usually not having an extra supply nds his vehicle still stalled in the inud. lf he has extra straps he will usually break several sets and may still find his car stalled. y

(lne advantage ot' easily attachable'and detachable mud hooks is that when a driver sees a stretch ot' sandy or muddy road ahead of hini he is more likely to attach the mud hooks than to take a chance. i'vliereas it' they areof ordinary types, hard to apply, he Will incre likely take a chance and try to get through, resulting in becoming actually stuck, which, as is Well known, is a condition much harder to get out vof than it would have heen to keepvgoing, as would have been possible if the easily attachable and'detachahle niud hooks had been at hand and used. A

ln the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which like nunihcrs of reference denote like parts wherever they occur, A

Figure l' is a fraginental side elevation of part of a vehicle wheel having a pneumatic tire und showing one forni of this invention attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing another forni oi.t this invention in place upon a Vehicle wheel;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View on the line 3`3 1n Figs. .l and 2, looking in the direct-ion of the arrows Fig. l isa detailed View ol a link and connected-parts takenon the line 444 of Fig. 5 is a sectional View ylike 3, but showing a modified forni of attaching means; v

Fig. 6 is a fragmental side elevation of the subject-matter of Fig. and

Figs. 7 and 8 are opposite side elevations of a modification. v

The plate l is not only elongated, as clearly shown in Fig. l, 1out is also curved in its shape in cross section and so shaped in cross section as to be adapted closely to't the contour of the tire 2 to which it is ap plied. This tire need not necessarily be of the pneumatic variety7 having'the casing 3 and inner tube ,4- .shown in the drawings, butv side periphery of the tire, both laterally and longitudinally. lt will be observed that both plate 1 and plate 5 are curved longitudinally as well as transversely.

The larger the car, the'larger the-wheels and tires, and vice versa for smaller cars. Accordingly the device of F ig. 1 is intended more particularly for large and heavy cars where the maximum strength aniF-eflicienfy of mud hook is required, while the device f. 2 is, generally speaking, intended more for smaller cars.

f iraction-inaking ribs 6 project from plate 1 and are arranged at substantially a right angie to the tread of tire 2. Mud hooks are required when the constituency of the road is such that the ordinary tread of the tire 2 does not get traction, e., take hold on the road, and this' may be due either to the presence oit mud or sand or some other non-stable f or loose condition. -The ribs 6 are adapted to bite the road, no matter of what its consistency, because they present a greater transverse bearing surface to gather u road material for a bite, or in the case ci) loose material upon top of rmer ground, they cut through the firmer ground and bite into it instead of slipping; over' it as would be Athe case of the ordinary tire tread.

lVhile the drawings illustrate only a pair oif transverse ribs 6 in the form depicted in lfig. 1 and a single rib 7 in the form shown in Fig. 2, yetlany desired number of ribs nu used in either of these devices and the said ribs may be `formed integral with plat-es il or 5, as where the whole is cast or sed or stamped, or they maybe formed as separate pieces riveted or otherwise attached to'plates 1 or 5.

T he shackle 8 is passed inside the felly 9 of the wheel. at a point between a pair of spokes 10 after the plate 1 (or plate 5) has been placed ,upon the tire 2 in the position shown in Figs. l and 2.

At one end of the shackle 8 is formed an eye 11, in which is swivcled a link 12 which' is swivelcd in a similar eyel, preferably formed integral with a lug le ou plate 1 (or plate in Fig. 2).

Upon the other side ot' plate l 1s a similar 1 lug 15 terminating in an eye 16 to which is swiveled the slotted head 17 of bolt 18, which bolt 18 passes through a .bolt hole in the end 19 of shackle 8. A nut 2O draws upon bolt 18 in such manner as vto bind the ends of great tightness of binding of the mud hook to the tire and rim as may be desired.

It will be observed that the central part 21 of the shackle 8 is bent out of the plane of the ends of the shackle that carry the eye 11' and the bolt hole for bolt 18, whereby the central part 21 clears engagement wit the felly 9. By the said bending of shackle 8 the central part 21 clears the elly 9 while the ends of shackle 8 engage the under side of rim 34, which is clearly a veryy advantageous arrangement. The lswiveling of parts in eyes 11, 13 and 16 produces a flexibility` of the device as a whole thatcompares favorably with the flexi- 'bility of mud hooks dependent upon straps and the like for adjustment, while on the other hand the use of metal in the construction of all the parts hereinbefore described makes this device of unusual strength and one that will stand and eliiciently serve through any power that can be applied by nthe engine without causing slippingv of the clutch.

- The construction of the device as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is largely the same as hereinbefore described, the chief diierence being that power for drawing the ribbed bearing plate and the shackle 8 together instead of 'being applied by nut 2O is applied by hand lever 22, which is pivoted at 23 in a fork 24 dependent from the slotted end 25 of shackle 8 opposite the end of the said shackle having the eye 1l. l The pivot -23 for the enlarged end 26 is olf center so that the said enlarged end 26 acts as a cam when the said lever is moved from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 to a osition shown in full lines in the same lipgure, action causes the"Y said pivot to draw bolt'27 in threaded connection with eyelet 28 swiveled in eyes -29 in lug 14 downwardly, thus binding shackle 8 to rim 34, and the rib-bearing plate to the tire 2.

The threads 30 on bolt 27 engage with internal threads in eyelet 28, which allows for any adjustment that may be necessary on account of Avariation of size of tire or felly or other parts, in order to secure the tightest engagement of all the parts .in actual use.

It .has been found in actual practice with previous forms of mud hooks that a single rib on a mud hook sometimes fails to extri-` eate a car for the reason that itv loses its traction or bite upon the road material bctore the extrication of the vehicle 1s comwhich cam-like Lavagna pleted, for which reason .it will be perceived that one rib following another, as shown in Fig. `,-Will be of great advantage.

For the sake of added strength, the ribs 6 in Fig. l rise from between the main body of the plate 1 and an extension from.

The nose 32 on the underneath side of the part 25 holds the lever 22 in the position shown infull lines in Fig. 5.

.A Bolt 27 is at its shackle end provided with the eye 33, through which the pivot 23 passes by means of which the 'enlarged end or cam 26 of lever 22 is pivoted te fork 24, and thus bolt 27 is in pivotal connection with the cam 26.

ln Figs. 5 and 6 thev eyes 29 are formed in the opposite parte of fork 31k projecting from lng 14.

In 'the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, but appearing only in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the bolt 35 is shown in threaded engagement with an eyelet 36 which is pivoted in eyelets 37 in the branches of the fork 38, the saidboltand the parts just described being on the opposite side of the tire from bolt 27. r[his provision for adjustment of both sides of the tire is an advantage in making it possible to adjust the same to any size of tire or demonntable rim of felly Without making' all the parts as large as would be necessary without this double provision for adjustment. This provision for adjustment on both sides also possesses the advantage of allowing the device to be used in connection with tires and other parts of various sizes without distortion yof the de- 31 thereviee or distortion of its pull'upon the tire, rim, ete.

ln the modification illustrated in 7 and 3, all the parts are substantially as shown in iFigs. 5 and 6, but the difference is that Whereas Figs. 5 and '6 require a lever 22 at each end ot the plate 1, the modiiied form shown in Fig. 7 is so constructed "that one lever 39 performs the function of both.

Having thus described this invention, it is obvious that many minor changes in the form, arrangement and order of parts and their materials and mode of construction may loe-made, Without departing from the .spirit of this invention or the scope oit' the following claim.

l claim: In a mud hook, a'body portion adapted to `embrace a Wheel tire, a link pivotally connected to one side of said. body portion, a shackle constructed'to embrace the felly of a, Wheel, a laterally extendingF lng at one end of the shackle `to which the said link is se cured, the other end of the shackle being slotted, and a fork integral with the slotted end of Said shackle, a leverhaving an en 'larged end pivoted in said fork centered for cam action, whereby the enlarged end oi' the lever acts as a cam` when the lever is moved, a draw bolt connected at one end to one side of said body and having .its other end mounted on the pivot of the cam head of said lever.

in' testimony Whereol 1thereunto atlix my signature.

HARRY E. MAY. 

